"Can you please shut up- I mean give yourself some rest," Sudhir pleaded.

"What a bummer. You already tired of my story session? Yuvaan loves it, you know, whenever I tell him imaginary tales," I said.

Sudhir shifted in his spot and checked his wristwatch. He mumbled why his brother hadn't returned yet. He avoided my gaze and panicked when I began another random story. He was on the verge of blowing his fuse when Sudeep arrived with some takeouts. He jumped up from his spot and told Sudeep to keep an eye on me while he refreshed his mind outside.

Sudeep shot his brother a confused look and started taking out Chinese noodles from the bags. He glanced at me and put a plate in front of me with a plastic fork. I told him to untie my hands, but he didn't fall prey to my plans. Unlike his elder brother, he didn't show any weakness and decided to feed me himself.

"I know what you are trying to do," he grumbled. "You think you can annoy us by talking non-stop, and we would let you go? Not a chance, woman. I am not a scaredy cat, and stop glaring at me like that. I won't hold back from hitting you in fear that you are Yuvaan Raichand's wife."

"Why don't you try then?" I challenged, but Sudeep maintained his calm and fed me the first morsel.

"Damn, you are really good at ignoring people, aren't you?" I poked.

"Shut up and just eat."

I rolled my eyes and observed my kidnapper no.2 as he fed me. He twisted his lips when I asked him to fill my plate again. He did as told but warned me that it was the last round of my meal. I wouldn't be getting anything to eat for the rest of the day, and the next meal would be only tomorrow, in the afternoon.

"At least, you are giving me food when I ask for it. Are you really kidnappers?" I mumbled.

"We aren't professionals, okay? We only need the money, nothing else. That's why, do as we say if you don't want to get hurt," Sudhir reminded me.

He picked up the empty plates and gathered them in a plastic bag. He wiped the stool with a cloth and came back after checking on his brother. He took out some deck cards from under the bed and played by himself after adjusting my hand ties. He told me that they would be calling Yuvaan today and would ask for ransom.

"Why are you playing alone?" I asked him, ignoring everything else.

"What?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I thought you were a good person when you gave me food, but you are playing alone without even asking me. Looks like, you aren't that good after all. How much I wish someone would ask me to play instead of ignoring my presence."

Sudeep slowly got up from the bed and pointed his finger at me in disbelief. "Why are you crying out of the blue? What a strange woman! You are acting, aren't you?"

"Let me play, let me play, let me play..." I repeated on loop.

Sudeep hurriedly went outside and dragged Sudhir inside. He showed me how I was behaving, making both brothers look at me as if I was some maniac. Sudeep asked Sudhir if he did something to me for me to behave like that, to which Sudhir yelled in response that it was I who tortured him instead.

"Is she right in her mind? What's with the sudden mood swings?" Sudeep asked.

"I don't know," Sudhir said in a low voice. "But I know that she won't stop if we won't grant her wish."

"Why do you look so scared of her, man?"

Sudhir ignored his brother's interrogation and told him to do as I demanded. Sudeep couldn't comprehend why Sudhir was acting cautious around me even when I was bound to the chair. Sudhir pushed my chair towards the bed and ordered Sudeep to keep me distracted.

"Thank you so much. You are indeed men of conscience, I see." I smiled.

"Look, we have nothing against you, but I lost my job because of you only. And you know how much hard it is for me to get another job after the news of Yuvaan Sir firing me spread like fire? I have to send my daughter abroad for studies, but I am still unemployed. The lease on my house isn't paid yet, and my father, his hospital bills-"

"Just play with me, and I will take care of it," I said.

"What?"

"I said just play with me, and I will take care of all of your problems. But first of all, untie me. How would I play like this?"

"We don't trust you, Reyna Raichand," Sudeep intervened.

While Sudeep looked at me like I stole his kidney, Sudhir asked me again if I was lying or not. I nodded in positive, but Sudeep didn't let his brother drown in his emotions. He shoved me in a corner and continued his game after staring daggers at Sudhir.

"Do you have kids?" I asked.

No reply.

"Are you married?"

Still no reply.

"Will you kill your child if you got to know that it was a girl or if he/she was raped?"

Sudeep snapped his head at me in a flash. "What the fuck are you taking about?"

"Would you kill them or not?" I asked again.

"Why would we kill them? Does that shit even makes sense? If someone even thinks of harming my kids, I will kill them myself," Sudhir said, getting agitated.

"But you were going to do it to me," I mocked.

"I... I was only trying to scare you. I wasn't going to do it... Never..." Sudhir mumbled under his breath. "Rape? Absolutely not. The person who even thinks like that deserves to die."

"I wish my parents thought like that too. Your daughter is lucky to have you as her father." I sighed.

All this time, Sudeep stared at with me narrowed eyes, while his brother rambled on how he was only trying to instill fear in me and wasn't going to touch me. He was only faking it - but his plan of scaring me didn't work.

"Sorry for ruining your plan, but these things don't scare me anymore," I said.

"Were you..." Sudeep cleared his throat. "Were you by chance... I mean were you abused before?"

"I was raped when I was thirteen."

Sudeep blinked rapidly and opened his mouth to reply but closed it again when he couldn't say anything. I told them that I wasn't lying, and it wasn't the first time I was kept as a captive. When I told them about how I was chained in my own home by my own parents, their faces paled.

I knew they were not qualified for being kidnappers.

"It is okay. I don't need your sympathy. I know that none of it was my fault, but I can't sit back quietly, knowing that my assaulters are still alive. And to know that my father still blames me for everything, I so want to bash his face. And my pathetic Mom... does she even have a right to call herself a mother?

"I know that if my brother was older, he would have protected me, but alas, he was too young then. Seriously, people always tell that parents are gods and we should always worship them, but do those people know that pests like my parents also exist? They did nothing!" I ranted.

My inner voice had shifted the moment I mentioned about playing cards with them. My kid persona would have gotten complete control over my body, but my original inner voice managed to keep it under control. But it couldn't stop the kid inside me from blurting out everything in front of my kidnappers.

'Should I tell them about the hostel too?' my kid voice asked.

'Why the hell are you asking now? Go ahead and tell them everything. As it is, these two men don't seem threatening at all,' my inner voice scolded.

'Okay. I was getting bored, and they seem like good listeners too. Maybe they can help us later on, you know.'

'Hmm... you actually are pretty useful, kid. Get over with whatever you have to say, and then I will talk to them about what I have planned.'

After both of my inner voices made a deal, my kid persona took charge and narrated my tragic childhood. After that acid incident in the jungle, I thought that I had gotten rid of my grandmother for good, but she had other plans for me. After manipulating my parents like she always did, she got me transferred to a local hostel in her village.

She sent my parents back to Mathura and told them that she would take care of me. I didn't trust her at all, but she threatened of killing me and dumping my body in a canal. She had taken bribe from Lokesh and Himesh for keeping an eye on me. I thought her plans wouldn't work, but the hostel in which she had admitted me was actually an orphanage.

For two years, I lived like an orphan, my parents visiting me only twice a year. There was no one around my age, and the young kids refused to play with me as they were instructed by their caretaker. My grandmother had full control over the orphanage's activities and gave me drugs whenever I rebelled.

Slowly, they managed to beat me up into a new person, which was perfect for the 'society' they lived in. I was labelled as an insane person for fighting back, but when they transformed me into something they preferred, I was allowed to have a second chance at life. My grandmother took all credit when my parents took me back with them.

As if they weren't sure about me, they were always on guard around me. I missed my school, and once my parents had assured that I was no longer a threat, we shifted places and moved to Mumbai. No one mentioned about that incident again, and all of the memories were buried deep inside my brain. I was aware of it but was afraid of remembering everything again.

I was finally happy to live a normal life, but Dad's one mistake ruined it all. And now I was back to my old self. I was scared of the change in me, but it was the best thing that happened after so many years.

"How could you do this to her?" Sudeep accused Sudhir. "How can you kidnap someone who has already suffered a lot?"

Sudhir put up his hands in surrender. "I didn't know. Promise."

"I feel really shameful... I am sorry, Mrs. Raichand. I knew we were going to regret this kidnapping," Sudeep mumbled while glaring at his brother.

"Stop blaming each other, and listen to me," I told them. "I need a favor from both of you."

Both men exchanged curious glances, and Sudhir instantly untied me when Sudeep shot him a murderous look. Sudhir apologized and stood in a corner.

"I really like this place, considering that the location hasn't been traced yet even after 16 hours. It just needs a little bit of upgrade and it would be perfect for my games. So, I would like to offer a deal. In exchange of lending me your help, I would give you triple the amount of money you were going to ask from Yuvaan. Just be careful of not opening your mouth in front of anyone, or I won't spare you both," I said.

Sudeep thought for a moment and nodded. "Just make sure that my brother gets a job."

"We will help you," Sudhir added.

"Good then. Now go and bring me some food. I am hungry." I pointed at my stomach.

Sudhir dashed out without any argument, leaving me and Sudeep alone. After a few minutes of silence, Sudeep asked me why I asked them to help. I knew he had already suspected it but was only asking to confirm his doubts.

"Prepare the place like I told you, and you will know eventually. My 'guests' should be happy when they come here." I grinned.

He gave me a short nod, and we fell back in silence. I closed my eyes and waited for the food to arrive.

One of my major concerns was taken care of thanks to this sudden kidnapping. I missed my husband - I knew he was going to be worried a lot. I wished he wouldn't kill Advait for not being able to track me faster.

While I was busy thinking about Yuvaan, Sudhir arrived with food. I ate satisfactorily and told the men to drop me off tomorrow in the morning, before the sun rose.

I had enough time to clear my mind, and now it was time to return to my husband.